XIPPAS GALLERY ATHENS

ASSISTANT, 2012

Dean Monogenis's paintings depict environments merging urban,
architectural constructions with natural, organic elements. He
combines details of unfinished buildings, colored scaffoldings and
condo structures in landscapes made of rock cliffs, vegetation,
looming skies and colored abysses. He thus points out the constant
state of change and transition, the challenge between nature and
human perseverance in the perpetually in-progress urban
landscape.

Each scene, like a still from a dreamy narrative with evocative
titles, focuses on the idea of growth and transformation,
conceptually as well as in the process of painting. Monogenis,
working on wood panels, applies "paint in layers to build objects
like buildings", also using the dialogue and the tension
established between different painting techniques (stencil-applied
graphics or free hand elements, glossy details and matte
surfaces).

Profoundly marked by the catastrophic events of 9/11 and witness
of the urban expansion and chaos that followed in his hometown
Brooklyn (NY), Monogenis started focusing on buildings as living
creatures. Through these "portraits", the artist questions the
temporary and the ephemeral, exploring the beauty inherent in
development and decay.

In this body of works, realized during the stay of the artist in
Nisyros, nature and architecture are more closely related and
integrated, in a positive interaction, without defying each other.
"Nikia" portrays literally and emotionally his working and living
situation, while works such as "Fault of Egress" or "Paxia" show
how Monogenis has been influenced by the island's dramatic
elevations and the Nysirian wind.